OAIC

Whenever the public are in danger of having their credit file tarnished due to data breaches which can result in identity theft, it is important to warn them. Recent news from the OAIC (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner on a botched Telstra mailout has come forth. The OAIC today released the findings of its investigation into the Telstra mailing error which resulted in around 60,000 Telstra customers’ personal information being sent to other customers. Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim opened an investigation after Telstra notified him of the incident in October 2010. Mr Pilgrim [...]

There has been a lot of chatter recently about Identity Theft, Online Scams and such and one of the best ways to be on the look out for these issues is to grab hold of your free credit report every 12 months.. There are 3 main credit reporting agencies in Australia and the largest is Veda Advantage. (formerly known as Baycorp Advantage and before that CRAA) The three credit reporting agencies are: Veda Advantage ( http://www.vedaadvantage.com.au ) Dun & Bradstreet ( http://www.dnb.com.au ) Tasmanian Collection Service ( http://www.tascol.com.au ) Only if you [...]

It’s National Cyber Security Awareness Week this week, from 30 May to 3 June. The Government holds this week to endeavour to help Australians understand cyber security risks as well as educate home and small business users on the simple steps we can take to protect our personal and financial information online and reduce the risk of identity theft. Visit the website www.staysmartonline.gov.au for information on events during the week. These are the Government’s 8 top tips for cyber security : 1. Install and renew your security software and set it to [...]

Sony has offered a sweetener in the hope that most of its 17 million users will be enticed back to using its services after the PlayStation data breach last month. Sony has offered its customers a ‘welcome back’ package that includes 30 days of free access to PlayStation Plus, 30 days of free access to Music Unlimited by Qriocity, as well as free identity theft monitoring from Debix, and a promise of free downloads in the future. In the video message below to customers, Executive Deputy President of Sony, Kazuo Hirai says [...]

Graham Doessel2011-05-16T14:25:08+00:00Comments Off on Sony dangles a carrot to entice users back to its system

On April 27 I posted about the Sony PlayStation data breach which occurred on April 17 and has possibly affected PlayStation users worldwide. To update this issue, yesterday the Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim revealed findings from his initial investigation into the data breach: “Yesterday, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) advised me it had discovered that hackers may have obtained SOE customer information. SOE has said that the information was held in an out dated database from 2007 and contained approximately 12,700 non-US customer credit or debit card numbers and expiration dates. It [...]

PlayStation users should contact their banks immediately. Sony Australia has confirmed today that the personal information of all PlayStation Network account holders worldwide has fallen into the wrong hands. All users are now at grave risk of identity theft with the hackers having access to all names, addresses, email addresses, birthdates, usernames, passwords, logins, security questions and more. The NSW Police fraud squad says this is enough information for the hackers to even take out loans on the vicitms’ behalf. Detective Superintendant Col Dyson from the NSW Police fraud squad spoke with [...]

CREDIT rating defaults are very easy to come by, but not so easy to remove on your own, according to credit repair company MY CRA. Director GRAHAM DOESSEL says it would surprise most people that thousands of Australians have black marks against their names, and many are unaware they have them until they apply for credit. When they attempt to remove those blemishes themselves, they are coming up against a brick wall. "Every day I deal with people who have experienced difficulty in removing defaults themselves with the credit reporting agencies. Effectively [...]

VICTIMS of CYCLONE YASI are urged to take real and important measures to protect their identities from thieves in the aftermath of the cyclone's devastation to homes and businesses. With homes in absolute ruin and thousands of people still displaced, there is a danger of victims being hit again by identity thieves. These fraudsters could pose as insurance people or attempt to remove personal information from homes and businesses while they are vacant and in disarray, according to credit rating repair company MY CRA's Director GRAHAM DOESSEL. "Victims should not be preyed [...]

This week has been National Consumer Fraud week, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have themed this year as 'Scams: It's Personal'. “While the overall financial cost of scams is high, we should not overlook the personal toll experienced by individuals who fall victim to these crimes." Deputy Chairman of ACCC Peter Kell said. As anyone who has ever been a victim of identity theft or scams of any form will tell you – the cost is huge both emotionally and financially. And it is damn personal. Once some innocent [...]

MyCRA Credit Rating Repair
Vodafone customers' personal information was available on a publically accessible website..
Vodafone was in breach of their obligations under the Privacy Act...
The AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION now sites identity theft as the "fastest growing crime in AUSTRALIA